by Juan Arraez Cerda,

(Hors Serie AVIONS n ø3, Boulogne : LELA Presse, May 1995). French text,French and English photo captions. 112 pages, 227 black and white photographs of both aircraft and pilots, 23 colour side views, 1 list of Spanish fighter squadron commanders, 1 list of Spanish fighter pilots lost in combat, 1 list of foreign fighter pilots lost in combat, 1 list of accidental Spanish fighter pilots losses, 1 list of Soviet fighter squadron commanders. Retail price is 140 francs (about £ 14), plus 20 francs postage and packing in Europe and about 25 francs for North America.

This is a soft cover book from the publishers of the French aviation magazine "Avions" covering the fighter aircraft of the Spanish Republic. There are 22 aircraft entries, including captured fighters, plus 6 pages on the various fighter schools. Each aircraft entry follows a consistent format of operational history, camouflage and markings and technical characteristics. The amount of material ranges from half a page and no photos for the Fokker D-XXI to 32 pages and 86 photos of aircraft and pilots for the Polikarpov I-15 Chato. Every single aircraft photo is of a plane in Spanish Republican service, when none was available to illustrate a particular type, no photos from other countries are used (the only exception is the captured He 51 which is shown in its Soviet markings).

Aircraft types covered are : Hispano-Nieuport Ni-52C.1 (9 pp, 21 photos), Martynside F4A Buzzard (2 pp, 4 photos), Hawker Spanish Fury (2pp, 3 photos), Boeing 281 (1 pp, 1 photo), Dewoitine D.371/D.372 (3 pp, 11 photos), Loire Nieuport 46C.1 (2 pp, 3 photos), Koolhoven FK-51 (3pp, 10 photos), Dewoitine 510 TH (1 pp, no photo), Bristol Bulldog (1pp, 2 photos), Gourdou Leseurre GL-32 (1 pp, 1 photo), Letov S-231 (3pp, 7 photos), Fiat CR.32 (3 pp, 8 photos), Grumman CCF G-23 Delfin (5pp, 8 photos), Fokker D-XXI (1/2 pp, no photo), Bleriot Spad 91 (1/2 pp,no photo), Heinkel He 51 (1 pp, 2 photos), Messerschmitt Bf 109B (2 pp, 4 photos), Avia BH-33.3 (1 pp, 2 photos), Polikarpov I-15 Chato (32 pp,86 photos), Polikarpov I-15bis Superchato (2 pp, 4 photos), PolikarpovI-16 Mosca (17 pp, 33 photos), pilot schools (6 pp, 17 photos).

While certainly not cheap, this is a good quality book that should be of interest to the aviation enthusiast. A very limited number of copies (15 as of 21 Sept. 1998 !) is still available from the publisher :

SARL LELA Presse, 39, rue Aristide Briant, 62200 Boulogne/Mer, FRANCE
Tel : 03-21-33-88-96
Fax : 03-21-32-00-39

Payment can be made by VISA, International Money Order or cheques drawn on a French bank.

This publisher's future plans for large hardback books should also be of interest to some readers :- one book covering the Condor Legion is due in November 1998. Judging from previous offerings (a large monograph on the Potez 25) this should be of high quality and price (expect it to be in the £ 30 to £ 40 range !) - another one covering the Republican Air Force in general should be out in 1999 (the manuscript and photos are ready, only the colour profiles are still to be drawn). - a series of aircraft monographs should be published in the next two years, including books on the Tupolev SB-2, Polikarpov I-15 and Polikarpov I-16.

Book Reviews

Two SCW Books
L'Aviation de Chasse de la Republique Espagnole
L'Espoir Guidait leurs Pas : Les Volontaires Francais dans les Brigades Internationales